shaunthesheepfandomcom-20200215-history
Shaun the Sheep
Shaun the Sheep is a British produced by , and commissioned by the and the . It first aired in the UK on in March 2007. The show consists of 80 episodes in 2 seasons, and is currently in hiatus. Synopsis A premise of the series is that Shaun the sheep exhibits human intelligence, creativity, and behaviour in a farm setting, which usually provides a conflict which Shaun must resolve before the end of each episode. Recurring themes include the characters evading the sheepdog Bitzer (though he is sometimes with the sheep in their escapades) and avoiding discovery by the Farmer. Episodes are very much a combination of and classic in Aardman’s recognizable animation style. There is no spoken dialogue, even by human characters. In this way it is reminiscent of silent comedy films and even and the animated version of . However, simple grunts, bleats, and sighs are all used to add subtle expression to each character's moods and feelings. Shaun's First Appearance Shaun the Sheep made his first "official" appearance in 's third short feature, the winning " " as the youngest member of a flock of sheep Wallace and Gromit work to save from an evil mechanical dog that wants to turn them all into dog food for profit. Shaun does show a hint of intelligence, though he proves to be a big factor in saving the day. Shaun and the entire herd are also seen living with the inventive duo (much to Wallace's annoyance since they eat everything in sight, including furniture and clothes as well as his beloved cheese), though none of this seems to be part of this series' canon, or it can be surmised Wallace simply sold off the flock to The Farmer where Shaun and his friends now reside. Shaun also made a brief cameo appearance with the duo in one of the episodes (entitled " ") of Wallace & Gromit's " " web series of shorts. Reception Reviews of the series were consistently positive. Harry Venning of "The Stage" found "characterisation charming and the animation superb. All this before even a mention of how funny and splendidly slapstick the script is."TV Review The Stage. Harry Venning. 12 March 2007. Retrieved 3 April 2007 The Guardian noted that the series "hits the four-to-seven-year-old age group smack in the eye."Banks-Smith, Nancy (6 March 2007). Last Night's TV. (UK). Retrieved 3 April 2007. Charles Arthur wrote "classic Aardman style that leaves me laughing out loud."Charles Arthur (20 March 2007). Roll over, Pixar – Shaun the Sheep’s here to tickle your funny bone CharlesArthur.com. Retrieved 3 April 2007. On forums, the show has received rave reviews, with Shaun becoming a favourite among adults as well as children.Multiple authors (3 May 2007). Shaun The Sheep - 3.45pm BBC1 DigitalSpy Forums. Retrieved 3 April 2007. References to popular culture As with the series' parent show Wallace and Gromit, there are many allusions to scenes from movies such as , , , , and . These include: * Shirley's training in the episode "Shape Up with Shaun" is based on the film . * The paintings parodied in "Still Life" include the and Constable's . * In "Buzz Off Bees", the Farmer appears in his hooded beekeepers outfit, with accompanying -style heavy breathing. * The infamous shower scene from Alfred Hitchcock's is spoofed in the episode "The Little Sheep of Horrors", whose name is based on the 1960 film and its . * In "Hiccups", Shaun turns his guitar amplifier up to 11 in a reference to a scene in . * In "Fleeced", the Farmer drags one of the sheep away for shearing, slamming a large metal sliding door closed behind him. This is particularly reminiscent of the original . ** Also in "Fleeced", the sheep breakout and accompanying music is very reminiscent of British films (e.g., ) *In "Supersize Timmy", when Timmy ate a tomato he becomes big like . This is similar to the 1933 film and its and . * In "The Visitor", the alien thrashes his car with a tree branch in the same way as in . ** Also in "The Visitor", the alien's space ship can use sheep dung as fuel, which resemble faeces in . * In "Mountains out of Molehills" a sheep is reading a magazine called "Bleat", a spoof of celebrity gossip magazine " ". * Near the end of "Off the Baa", the well-known theme from 's opera is used, which was the musical theme of the . * At the end of "Mower Mouth" the shrubs are clearly reminiscent of those in . * In "Saturday Night Shaun" Shaun rips off his coat and tosses it away as he is dancing, only to have tossed back. This is reminiscent of the scene in the 1980 movie , where tosses his white sportcoat away, only to have it tossed back in his face. * In "Mountains out of Molehills" Shaun tries to catch the mole with a fishing rod and line. When the first "bite" is shown, the first two notes of the theme are played. * in "Party Animals", one of the guests is dressed as a crude version of a trying to get up some stairs but failing because of the suit. * in "Zebra Ducks of the Serengeti", the Farmer's signpost over the gate falls over Bitzer - à la Buster Keaton in Adaptations Film A feature film is being developed for 2013/2014 release. | date=2011-01-27 |accessdate=2011-04-28}} Theatre show On March 9, 2011, Shaun the Sheep made its theatre début in live Shaun's Big Show. This 1 hour and 40 minutes long musical/dance show features all favourite characters, including Bitzer, Shirley and Timmy. Video games On 16 June 2008, , which published a game based on Aardman's 2006 film , announced that it would also release a video game based on the television series. The game was developed by exclusively for , and was released in autumn 2008. }} The Shaun the Sheep website also ran a contest which offered five packages containing a Nintendo DS and a copy of the game as a prize. A second game named was released in 2009 exclusively in Europe. The Shaun the Sheep web site is also home to several Flash-based games, including Home Sheep Home , which is also available at the iOS App Store for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. Spin-off produced a show aimed at pre-schoolers based on Timmy, called . In addition, an version was due to commence broadcasting in October 3, 2010.Main page of the Japanese site for Shaun the Sheep References External links *Official website shaunthesheep.com *Shaun's Big Show *Fan site *Aardman Animation official website *BBC Press release (animation series) *Shaun the Sheep at BBC Online *Shaun the Sheep at British Comedy Guide * *